Want to make an Amaretto wine.

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I love love love the flavor of amaretto, from coffee creamer (which is the hardest one to find at HEB, they have it but it's not as plentiful as others) to just a liqueur or even almond extract in cakes I love the flavor. For the longest time, I thought it was just cherries but I found out that almond extract has the same taste and smell. I've seen videos and recipes online on how to make a regular amaretto liqueur. What do you guys think or how do you think it would turn out if I took that same recipe minus the brandy and vodka and used it in an almond-based wine? Of course, I'm going to do it anyway but is there anyone that may have any experience with this? I have a recipe with apricot seeds, Mahleb, allspice, fennel, dried apricot, cardamom, vanilla pod (optional), and almonds. Of course, I could just add an extract of almond and vanilla but that is no fun.
 
Something to consider when choosing your recipe.

Apricot kernels and bitter almonds contain amygdalin. Eating amygdalin will cause it to release cyanide in the human body, and may lead to cyanide poisoning.

I have no idea how this translates to making wine with them, but one technique to isolate amygdalin is soaking kernels in ethanol. I doubt you have much to worry as far as serious poisoning goes, but you could create a good headache maker?

Sweet almonds have far less amygdalin than bitter almonds or apricot kernels. In one study, bitter almond amygdalin concentrations ranged from 33 to 54 g/kg depending on variety; semibitter varieties averaged 1 g/kg and sweet varieties averaged 0.063 g/kg.
 
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Yes, I like amaretto too so I understand your interest.

While back sweetening my coffee wine it very much started to taste like Kahlua so I'm convinced a Disaronno Amaretto is possible. I have hazelnuts so a Frangelico experiment is in my future.

Just curious, what kind of fennel is in your recipe? Dried leaves, bulb vegetable, lightly toasted seeds? All are wonderful and they're all different. I always put extra fennel seeds into my Italian sausage because I love the flavor so much.

Beyond the almonds, I could certainly see some vanilla and cardamom. I haven't tried fennel or allspice in wine - yet - so I don't know. Possibly some banana and brown sugar as well. Quantities of the ingredients is the real tricky part. You don't want any one to dominate, of course, just acting as small indistingushable pieces in the big puzzle.

Whatever you decide to do, please document and share with us. I'm interested!!! And keep an eye on @vinny's progress.
 
I have taken this in consideration, my batch has alcohol already produced in it so idk if that makes a difference. One video I saw the guy put a 1/4 cup of kernels for a small batch quart sized mason jar liqueur mine is a two gallon batch and I used 15 kernels. What do y’all think? I have read that they can be lethal in quantities from 4 a day to something like 10?

 
I'm a little confused. Are you fermenting with the ingredients or making an infusion post fermentation?
it's still fermenting, I'm step feeding it right now. It initially started as an almond wine, but I'm starting to steer to an amaretto wine. is there any difference in flavor profile when steeping ingredients during and post fermentation?
 
How are you co.bating the natural oil in the almonds? Doesnt that ruin the wine? I've always been told to avoid oils of any type so the wine doesnt get any rancid off flavors.
I skimmed as much as I could off the top and was quite successful, I will be using a fining agent once fermentation is fully done as it drops that oil out, and then I can rack it off.
 
it's still fermenting, I'm step feeding it right now. It initially started as an almond wine, but I'm starting to steer to an amaretto wine. is there any difference in flavor profile when steeping ingredients during and post fermentation?
Yes, there's a difference and each spice is different. I've just started experimenting with spices so I can't give any expert advice. I can share a couple, though. Three cloves in primary per gallon of a pear wine is wonderful, kept the flavor, identifiable but not overpowering. More would be too much. Three star anise in another - couldn't taste it at all. Next time I'll try anise seeds instead. I've put Dutch cocoa, coffee grounds, and black pepper to secondary and they all added a subtle unidentifiable flavor. I did about a tablespoon of each per gallon. And brown sugar can be very nice in small quantities. For me, I like 25% brown sugar. Too much and it overpowers, you almost have a molasses wine - which isn't unpleasant - but any other flavors can be lost.
I'm sure I could spend years experimenting with spices.

Perhaps someone with more experience will have something to add.
 
Cloves added later can OVERPOWER anything, so be careful with those.I once made a nearly clover wine with some pear (or apple, I forget which off the top of my head) 3 cloves added to 6 gallons during bulk aging.

Also you always want to deal with Dutched cocoa, other cocoa powders can have oils added, so you would then have to deal with those.
 

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